Raftel Chapters
by Gr1ev3r
Summary: The remains of a world war speak tales of the dead, a lost soul trapped inside of his past, the thoughts of all that he has lost etched into his mind.
1. Prologue

**[./One Piece: Tales of Regret and Fantasy**

**[./Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters, Eiichira Oda is the original creator.**

**[./PAU: Partial Alternate Universe**

_**Broken**_

**Sometimes, its as though the world you wished to create, was the world from your nightmares, and all those goals and dreams you had committed your life to, well, they were your demons that would haunt you for the rest of your life. Tragedy is having it all, then losing it all because you were too blind to see everything was falling apart around you, and sad enough to say, that is what happened to me, everything broke down around me. Everyone left me, and now here I am, sitting in Raftel, surrounded by the riches of the world, which should make me happy right? But what good are riches when you have no one to share them with, I never did this on my own, I do not have rights to all the treasure, it belongs to all of us, and until the day we all reunite, this treasure is not moving anywhere.**

**-----**

**The wind whipped through the raven hair of the forlorn male sat stoically atop the edge of the cliff, were it not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, only noticeable to those who were brave enough to move close to him, one would have thought him dead to the world. His eyes would be forever watching the ocean, looking over the wreckages of the worlds greatest battle, the world navy against the crew of the king of the pirates. The world had turned their backs, the full force of the navy and all of the admirals had fallen on them, only the strongest pirates could battle here. Only the strongest pirates had lived here. Only one pirate remained, remained against the decimated world government. War takes away what is best in a man, but when the people around him are what make the man, then what happens to the man? He becomes lost, trapped in his own past, reliving the very same horrors every day.**

**The spray of the ocean washed over his face, the many specks of icy water dotting his passive face, yet they went unnoticed, physical feelings were lost to him, no matter how hard he tried to beat himself up, how many times he tried to destroy himself, he never managed to work past the numbness, and all he ever felt was the crushing emotional pain of loss and hatred, he wanted to kill everyone responsible for this. The rage he felt was insurmountable, the island itself was mostly destroyed, not by the war, as it had never taken place on land, but by the wrath of the animal that waged its own war inside the man. He was driven to kill the man responsible, and had set about his own destruction, for days with no rest, he tried to destroy his body with no success. He could not outright kill himself, otherwise the navy would have won, and the deaths of everyone would have been for naught, but surely, if he succumbed to his own foolishness, there would be no victors.**

**He had once been told by Basil Hawkins, a fellow captain, and a fellow enemy of the world, that his life would never end until his fate deigned it so. He could no more kill himself than any man would be able to kill him. He would die in the end, when his time would come, and until then, he was expected to suffer this harsh turmoil, had to suffer his own thoughts. A fate worse than death for any man who knew loss. For the first time in what seemed like years, the male felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes, but he did nothing to stop them, he let the sadness flow, with each new salty tear that ran down his face and fell into the ocean, he was one step, if only a small step, closer to his companions. His right hand gripped his forehead, pulling some of the hair, but he did not feel the pain, he just let the anguish flow from him. One day. One day he would be allowed to reunite with his crew, and on that day, well, he could be happy again.**

_**Dereshi Dereshi Dereshi**_

_**Robin…**_** He remembered her, a strong, yet still beautifully feminine member of his crew, the archeologist, and probably the most intelligent member, who always offered advice when needed. She had been special to him. After his first, true, experience with loss, when the crew had been reunited, she had taken him aside, helped him cope. If he was a smarter man, perhaps he would have realized that he was in love with her from that moment onwards, but he did not understand it. The death of Ace had been harsh, it had nearly killed him, but it seemed Basil would never be wrong. After he had met up with everyone once more, she had told him she understood his pain, but he refused to believe her, he could not accept that she knew what it was like to have lost someone close, as she had never been close to anyone, from his understanding of her past. She said nothing to this, merely turned to face the waters around the **_**Thousand Sunny**_**.**

_**Dereshi Dereshi Dereshi**_

**He had thought she had been speaking some language that he was incapable of understanding, but when she turned around, a small smile on her beautiful face, which he would have never forgiven her for if he had not seen the tears in her eyes too. Laughing. Even when it hurt, it helped to keep you happy even while the pain was still there. She had kissed him on the cheek and left him to be. It was probably then that he fell in love, but he could not quite remember the specifics. That memory was important to him, not because of the love, but because of the words she had told him, that even when it hurt, never stop laughing, death was an inevitability that would not quit, that should not consume you. But the all consuming hate and pain from all the death around him felt like too much, on many occasions, he had tried to do this, he had tried to laugh, but he could not bring himself to it.**

"_**Der..Dereshi"**_

**He tried to smile, he tried to laugh, but the encumbering pain locked him down, he could not stop the tears and sadness that suffocated him. His hands curled into fists, and he felt the urge to destroy coming back, but he bit his bottom lip, biting so hard that he pierced the flesh, blood seeping from his wounds. There was nothing that could be accomplished by breaking more things, there was nothing that could be accomplished at all. He just wanted to be back with his crew, back in the days when it was fun to be a pirate, before the world government and everything came crashing down around him. It was fun, fun all the way until the end, when he finally realized that all of his actions had consequences, and that all he had done was reduce his own happiness to naught, and take on Nicos mantle as a demon child, the man with the highest bounty in the world, higher than Gol D. Rogers had been, the man with nothing left to lose.**

"_**Back… Back to the beginning…"**_


	2. Freedom of the Seas

[./Memories of the Heart

The wind swept through the hair of the man on the bow of the ship, sitting happily on the lions head, the top most spike between his crossed legs, one arm gripping the top of the yellow spike, the other pressed against the straw hat upon his head. The blissful smile that crossed his face showed his thoughts, he had no cares, a strange thing for a man worth three hundred million BelI, and even as an enemy of the world, there was nothing that could dampen the spirits of this man. As the salty smell of the ocean filled his nose, he allowed his breathing to even out, the excitement of the upcoming adventure. He wanted it to be bigger than the last, which would be hard to top, saving an entire nation and visiting a land where prehistoric times still existed, and two giants battling each other, all of those things were pretty exhausting, even just to think about. Then there was the CP9, the most incredible battle yet, Rob Lucci, even if he was an asshole, was fun to fight, for the first time in his life, that fight was something he did not think he could win, if it had not been for Usopp, he may have not been able to survive.

However, time and time again, he had pulled through, which only meant there were more adventures, greater ones ahead of him. A large grin grew across his face, how far would he have to go before he was recognized as the king of the pirates? It seemed as though every adventure was growing in madness, and each time, a new friend was recognized. Chopper was the doctor, a very strange beast, but that just made the rubber man like him all the more, he was a talking reindeer, how much cooler could a nakama be? Well, the fact that it could do some crazy stuff with his devil fruit powers, and his incredibly strange nature, it made him an excellent companion to have on his journey. As captain, he was really the one who decided who got to join the ship, and he could not resist letting the reindeer join, plus, he had probably saved a lot of lives just being with the crew. Wondering what brought on the thoughts about the reindeer, Luffy realized that he was currently listening to the high pitched screaming of said nakama. Like a noise in the real world interrupting a dream, Choppers screams had changed the thoughts of the captain, and now he could not remember what he had been thinking about.

_"Oh well!"_

He turned, the massive grin on his face, stretching his features absurdly, but it was the smile that everyone on board was familiar with. The raven haired future king of the pirates grinned as he looked over his crew. Zoro was, as usual sleeping, his body placed in an awkward position, but he seemed happy, not even the loud screeching of the doctor could wake him. His first mate, and most trusted companion, sure, Sanji was also a great fighter, but Zoro had been with him since he began, they had suffered together on the high seas, lost in the ocean, at least until Luffy was captured by the bird. Shame he had never even gotten to eat it. The swordsman was without his swords for the moment, they were elsewhere, somewhere that the captain had no knowledge of, but that was not unusual for when they were on the _Thousand Sunny_ for long periods of time. He was certainly comfortable leaving his safety in the hands of everyone else, even the cook. Although, the man was incredible, even without his swords, he could easily handle most opponents. He was certainly someone that the raven haired teen was glad to have brought aboard. Hell, the guy was only a year older than himself.

"_Someone get a doctor!"_

The familiar scream rang out, and Luffy finally cared enough to discover what the rage was all about, even though this seemed to be another one of those things that the small animal overreacted about. Rolling onto his back on the head of the lion, he placed his hands just above his shoulders, and launched himself upwards, sailing through the air and landing onto the deck, one hand clamped onto his hat to make sure it would not escape. The grin was still perched on his face, Robin looked up from her book to take a quick look at him, her dark eyes assessing his body, no real emotion on her face, and he could tell that the smile on her face was false, it was not in her onyx eyes. Still, he did not judge her, she was a real part of the team. However, her gaze did make him a little uncomfortable, as he could tell she was not looking at his face, her eyes seemed to be fixed on his torso, which was weird, he had not eaten for a while, so he could not have spilled any food on his chest again. Looking down, he looked at his own body, the rubbery skin was clear of any blemishes, sure, a few scars dotted the surface, but other than that, nothing interesting for her to look at. Although maybe it was because he was not wearing a shirt? Oh well, this was his ship, he could go naked if he felt like it, although Nami had certainly not approved last time.

He was about to question the tall raven haired archaeologist, but he was struck from the side by a rather harassed looking Chopper, followed by the always hysterical sniper, and finally, and enraged cook. The tangle of limbs and laughter and shouting brought a small giggle to the female stretched on her deck chair, which instantly changed the thoughts of the cook, who pulled himself from the pile and kneeled next to the female. His face was that of pure adoration, and he held her one slender hand between his own, calloused, fire hardened hands. The smile on his face, and endless source of amusement to the woman, and an endless source of irritation to the next person to arrive in front of the growing carnival. The sea cook was struck from behind by a booted foot, which was worn on the feet of another slender female, this one however, with a face of rage. It seemed that something had one wrong, and Luffy was suddenly aware of why Chopper had called for a doctor. It seemed as though all three of the males had blood leaking from their noses, probably because Nami had beaten them up or something, she sure was scary.

"_All of you! Perverts! I don't now why I put up with you"_

To make sure they understood her words, she beat the pile of limbs a few times with her strange weapon, making sure to create a little electric shock with each blow, shocking them all, bar Luffy, who sat under the pile of them, one finger in his nose, a uninterested look on his face. Nami had reached a level of rage that she seemed to be unable to form words any longer, and was happy just to beat the life out of the pile. After minutes of the beating, she finally decided it was enough, and let out a loud angry grunt, then turned, storming back into the cabins behind, leaving Sanju, Chopper and Usopp to groan in the pile they lay in, and Robin to laugh quietly behind her book. Although it would not occur to their captain, it was pretty easy for the archaeologist to figure out, it seemed that the trio had been spying on their rather voluptuous navigator, and she had responded in kind. The very thought of the ever so innocent reindeer performing such a deed brought a slight smile to her lips, after all, he was childish in ways that even their captain could not reach, as he at least, had been caught staring at a pair of breasts more than once. More than once, she thought with a coy smile, it had been her own.

Grumbling, Sanji stood, brushing himself off, muttering something about how Usopps crazy machinations would never work, and next time he would ask Franky for a hidden camera. However, he was soon distracted once more by the female in front of him, and all thoughts of spying on his wondrous Nami vanished from his head as he fawned over the wise woman. Chopper tugged on the leg of Sanji, distracting him from his adoring coos long enough to tell him that he was hungry. This plea was seconded by Luffy, who loudly objected having to wait any longer for meat. Usopp also agreed, but he was kicked in the side of the head, satisfying the need of the cook to kick something, but since Chopper was so cute, and luffy would not be affected by them, the sniper was the only one he could garner any satisfaction from. As he turned back to Robin to swoon some more, she smiled politely, agreeing with the thoughts of food, and with her questioning, he agreed to make the greatest meal he had ever made, anything to make his Robin-Chwan happy. With that, the blond disappeared into the kitchen of the _Thousand Sunny_, a spring in his step and love in his head, swooning over the fact he could be on the same planet with his Robin and Nami loves.

Life aboard the ship was not any different than any other day, things were peaceful, things were exactly how the captain enjoyed everything. Where had he been going in the beginning before he had been tackled? Ah, he could not remember, but whatever, this was _his_ ship, he could do whatever and go wherever he felt like! His grin grew ever so slightly as he looked up to the sky, he felt like going flying, and with the capabilities that Franky had installed into the ship, he knew he could achieve that dream. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled out, since he did not feel like searching for the ship maker, His voice easily reached the entirety of the ship, and he soon heard the cyborg rattling, coming out from the grass that his captain stood on. The rubbery jaw hit the round, amazed at something so cool, he did not know Franky was a plant too! That was too much, but after yelling it out, and listening to the archaeologist question whether or not the cyber could photo… Photosensitive? Something, and the punch he got from the metal man, he was finally ready to order his first order of the day.

"_Franky! Lets go flying!"_

The grin on the face of Cutty Flam was enough to tell Luffy that his order had been accepted. And within moments, the _Thousand Sunny _had undergone the necessary transformations, the back opening up to allow the large air cannon full view of the ocean behind, and the newly installed winged protrusions of the lion ship to e extended. Everyone held on tight, and the excited captain held onto the figurehead, his chin perched upon the top of the lion, moments before the air cannon exploded, sending the ship off into the sky, their course was uncharted, but they would find their way around someway, after all, they had plenty of those Log Pose thingies that Nami liked so much. Onwards to adventure.


End file.
